Looks like after tackling world’s information, Google is ready to take on energy. Yesterday they announced plans to find a renewable energy source less expensive than coal. “We have gained expertise in designing and building large-scale, energy-intensive facilities by building efficient data centers,” said Larry Page, Google Co-founder and President of Products. “We want to apply the same creativity and innovation to the challenge of generating renewable electricity at globally significant scale, and produce it cheaper than from coal.”

I love this for two reasons. First, Google is not doing this for completely altruistic reasons: They believe this initiative will save them a lot of money in the long run and be good for business. With that kind of motivation I expect them to get more done. Second, I get excited when people who know very little about a problem approach it (see this great Wired article on the Verifier Method).